The present invention relates to adaptive, cruise-control systems and cruise-control methods for vehicles.
Traditional cruise controls for vehicles control the speed of a vehicle at a user-set level. Once activated, if the vehicle speed is below the user-set level, the cruise control causes the vehicle to accelerate until the vehicle speed reaches the user-set level. If the vehicle is above the user-set level, the cruise control causes the vehicle to decelerate, whether by braking force or reducing the “throttle input,” until the vehicle speed reaches the user-set level. The cruise control is activated by a user-interface control (e.g., one or more buttons or levers), which is, for example, mounted on or adjacent to the steering wheel. The user can enable and disable the cruise control, set the desired speed of the vehicle, or adjust the previously set speed using the user-interface. Additionally, depressing the brake pedal cancels the cruise control's control of vehicle speed. The cruise control can be reactivated by using the user-interface control.